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The news today will be full of stories about mental health, aimed at raising awareness of this critical issue. Similarly, many companies will be running events to support employees’ mental health, encouraging them to feel comfortable disclosing their any issues and to seek support. This is all very laudable and forms an important part of the ongoing efforts to end the stigma of mental illness. However, mental health is not an issue for one day…

As we mentioned in our previous blog, the Farmer/ Stephenson “Thriving at Work” Report has made a number of recommendations as to steps that businesses, the public sector and the Government can take to increase mental health and wellbeing within the workplace, with the aim not only of increasing the standard of mental health but also of reducing the overall cost to UK employers and the wider economy of poor mental health. On the…

Today saw the publication of the Thriving at Work report commissioned by the Prime Minister in January this year and written by Paul Farmer CBE, Chief Executive of MIND and Lord Stevenson, the former Chairman of HBOS who has been open about his own struggle with clinical depression.
This is a far reaching report, a copy of which can be accessed online, and comments that “the UK is facing a mental health challenge at work…

It is a stark choice but one that is faced by an increasing number of professional rugby union players around the world.
Many of the top rugby nations have adopted explicit rules around the selection of players based abroad for the national team and others utilise similar, albeit unwritten, “guidelines” in order to maintain the strength of their domestic rugby clubs and teams. As financial muscle in the game increases, pay packets for players also…

Today is the 25th annual Mental Health Day, a fact which has passed with little fanfare. It’s not clear if this is a sign of progress (i.e. mental health is now so engrained in the workplace that there’s less need to publicise World Mental Health Day), or something else.
The theme of World Mental Health Day 2017 is ‘Workplace Wellbeing’. This seems particularly apt to me, having spent two days last week chairing plenary sessions…

Squire Patton Boggs and pre-employment screening specialists ADP present a webinar focussing on the common issues arising at the start of the employment process.
On 10 October 2017 at 4.00 p.m. UK time, David Regan and Annabel Mace from Squire Patton Boggs and ADP Pre-Employment Screening Manager Kevin Stone will consider:
Pre-employment screening
Why do it?
When is it permissible?
What are the risks?
Good screening practices
Immigration and visa issues
What obligations are there…

Most sports have rules or guidelines of varying complexity which are written down and interpreted by teams, umpires, players and fans (according to their respective affiliations). Inevitably there is always a sense of ambiguity to the interpretation of these rules (for example, see the differences in how northern and southern hemisphere rugby referees, and/ or the New Zealand rugby team as a whole, view the ruck area). However, baseball goes further, having an entirely unwritten,…

What do we mean when we talk about “mental health”?
The World Health Organisation defines mental health as:
“a state of well-being in which every individual realises his/her potential, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and is able to make a contribution to her or his community.”
The key is the reference to “every individual“. Everyone has mental health – it just fluctuates from positive mental health through…

Mental Health has been in the news a lot recently, with the recent “Heads Together” campaign being launched by members of the royal family to promote Britain’s talking about mental health, the Lord Mayor of London’s “This is me in the City” appeal, together with other campaigns being promoted by MIND, Rethink Mental Illness and other charities. Indeed, as some of you will know, this is a key time of year for mental health with…

17 March marks World Sleep Day. According to RAND Europe, a lack of sleep among UK workers is costing the economy up to £40 billion a year (equivalent to almost 2% of GDP).
Sleep deprivation leads to a higher mortality risk over the long term, as well as lower productivity levels and increased risk of mistakes and accidents over the short term.
The City of London Corporation’s Business Healthy initiative, Squire Patton Boggs…